Specialty Food Magazine

WINTER 2015

Specialty Food Magazine is the leading publication for retailers, manufacturers and foodservice professionals in the specialty food trade. It provides news, trends and business-building insights that help readers keep their businesses competitive.

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Page 98 of 139

producer profile
Focusing on the Customer
"We listen to our customers all the time," explains Jeremy,
addressing how Chex continues to stay ahead of the game in a
competitive field. Some of the company's sales reps have been on
board for 10 to 15 years, working hand-in-hand with retailers to
differentiate themselves from rivals.
"When I was starting out with the company my dad
and I would sit for hours in the showroom discussing differ-
ent customers and vendors," Jeremy recalls. "He'd always say,
'Questions are free. Ask away.'"
When Jeremy is out meeting with customers, he keeps
in mind an adage from his father: "You have two ears and one
mouth, so you should be listening." What Jeremy is hearing
about these days is a shift in the traditional salty-snack catego-
ry, with kale chips, coconut chips, and chickpea-based snacks
gaining ground on potato chips. As a result, Chex is broadening
the category, adding more international f lavors like wasabi and
Korean spices. At the same time, candy has been the company's
fastest-growing category overall, up 55 percent from two years
ago and 36 percent from last year.
Affinity for Entrepreneurs
"I love helping the little guy," says Jeremy of supporting new
vendors. "If there's a choice of having the proverbial titan ver-
sus the young upstart, I'll choose the young upstart. It's also
something my customers believe in and helps them grow their
businesses."
Jeremy views the risks taken in supporting new companies
and products as a key facet of the business. "A lot of people can
think of ten reasons why not to do something, and some of
them are very valid, but unless you take a chance you'll never
know." Among the products on which he took a chance are
unfiltered Paesano Olive Oil from Sicily, loving it from the
first sip but worried customers might send it back since it was
"green and cloudy"; Popcorn, Indiana, long before the specialty
popcorn craze hit; and Justin's, a Boulder, Colo., startup mak-
ing a line of organic nut butters. All became runaway hits.
He continues to scour the globe in search of more distinctive
products to import.
The father and sons behind Chex are keeping up the fight
in an increasingly competitive business. When Jay Isenberg
started the company 50 years ago, specialty food was a pio-
neering industry, and it remains so, with more boundaries to
explore. The men said they are always pushing against import-
ers who claim they can do it better and cheaper.
"There are no shortcuts to doing it right," Jeremy empha-
sizes. "We have to exceed the expectations that continue to get
higher." He notes that he has seen other distribution companies
run their businesses in a more transactional, less personal way. It is
not the Chex way. "Passion is the foundation," he says. "The mar-
ketplace needs more passionate people. We can't lose sight of what
got us here."
Julie Besonen is food editor for Paper magazine
and a restaurant columnist for nycgo.com.
MICHAEL
ISENBERG,
VICE
PRESIDENT
Age:
40
Years
in
specialty
food:
15
Favorite
food:
Laurel
Hill
Pumpkin
Seed
Tortilla
Chips
Least
favorite
food:
Green
peppers
and
onions
Last
thing
I
ate
and
loved:
Duck
with
fig
balsamic
vinegar
at
a
restaurant
in
Connecticut.
If
I
weren't
in
the
food
business
I'd
be:
Enjoying
gardening
and
travel
and
environmental
issues,
and
I'd
somehow
combine
them
in
a
career.
One
piece
of
advice
I'd
give
to
a
new
food
business:
You
have
to
enjoy
what
you
do
and
try
to
keep
innovating;
at
the
same
time
stay
true
to
who
you
are.
JEREMY
ISENBERG,
PRESIDENT
Age:
38
Years
in
specialty
food:
17
Favorite
food:
Seggiano
Basil
Pesto
is
mind-blowingly
better
than
anything
I've
ever
come
across.
My
favorite
experience
is
being
at
a
demo
at
a
store
and
hearing
people
say,
"Hey,
did
you
just
make
this
pesto?"
They're
in
disbelief
it
came
from
a
jar.
Least
favorite
food:
Soy
milk
Last
thing
I
ate
and
loved:
The
first-press
olive
oil
of
the
year,
so
green
and
robust,
the
most
incredible
experience.
If
I
weren't
in
the
food
business
I'd
be:
Working
for
a
nonprofit
helping
kids
develop
life
skills,
mentoring
them.
My
grandmother
would
always
say,
"Think
of
those
less
fortunate
than
you."
One
piece
of
advice
I'd
give
to
a
new
food
business:
Everything
great
in
life
is
right
outside
of
your
comfort
zone.
Live
it,
test
your
limits.
Every
time
I
push
myself,
I
come
out
standing
tall
on
the
other
side.
96 ❘ SPECIALTY FOOD MAGAZINE specialtyfood.com